Raf Simons S/S 2021 Paris

[dior_couture1245]

He sucks. Can he just leave?

 

[RedSmokeRise]

Somehow more corny than a MGC collection.

A turtleneck that says Children of the revolution - really lol

 

[Olaffo]

My beloved Samuel Beckett said "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." and I think that sums up all that mess.

The bigger his ego gets (and it's already the size of Australia) the less interesting/relevant collections he delivers. And the funniest thing is that whenever I am having a chat about fashion with "Gen Z" kids they don't care about him. He is old and irrelevant.

 

[Marc10]

And the funniest thing is that whenever I am having a chat about fashion with "Gen Z" kids they don't care about him. He is old and irrelevant

From my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. He's quite worshipped by the hypebeast crowd. Vintage Raf Simons is the holy grail of Grailed. The sneakers are always highly coveted. I see rappers, k-pop idols, etc wearing him all the time. He's very much still relevant and appealing for those folks.

 

[Olaffo]

From my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. He's quite worshipped by the hypebeast crowd. Vintage Raf Simons is the holy grail of Grailed. The sneakers are always highly coveted. I see rappers, k-pop idols, etc wearing him all the time. He's very much still relevant and appealing for those folks.

I think maybe it's because of actual geography of these kids? The one's I had chance to talk to were more into ALYX etc and if something sophisticated then getting Dior/LV etc. Surprisingly the tailoring for them were suits from Dries and sweatshirts from Haider. It is also interesting whether the vintage clothes from his old collections are more desired than new ones?

 

[Lola701]

^^
Obviously, based on his latest collections, the attention he got from rappers and stuff, his crowd is hypebeasts. I don't think that men (unlike Hedi) grew older with him. I have a hard time believing that men that are outside the fashion industry or creative world wears Raf Simons. And I don't think the men who bought Raf 10 years ago are still doing it.
The men around me who introduced me to his work have moved on from him.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

I may lose credibility for this post, but here I go. Overall, I believe this to be a collection that was nearly entirely based on Raf's previous work. I sensed a variety of themes including the late 1960's hippie movement in the US and the "rebellious" subcultures in Europe that Raf simply cannot get enough of. It was not groundbreaking in the slightest. No one will go on to say "Raf's womenswear debut was my all-time favorite collection". It is simply not a reality. Though, between the calf-length cape/cloaks, the transparent waistcoats, and satin skirts I was okay with the result. I was frightful that we would be given overprized and oversized hoodies or tapered sweatpants, so in that regard, I cannot complain. The evening wear was enjoyable. Those sheath dresses would have looked cleaner without the long-sleeved shirt underneath, but we all know how much Raf enjoys layering. His womenswear at Sander, Dior, and finally at CK was modern. I look back on those slim-cut suits and vibrant color blocking techniques and reflect on how he potentially influenced a generation. But, that is in the past. If his future womenswear collection continues to have a hint of androgyny, I do not mind. For him to pop back into relevancy and re-establish himself he must dig deeper and provide more refined collections geared to his audience, not for an Instagram reel or for a generation that has already grown up and moved on in their lives.

 

[jeanclaude]

I may lose credibility for this post, but here I go. Overall, I believe this to be a collection that was nearly entirely based on Raf's previous work. I sensed a variety of themes including the late 1960's hippie movement in the US and the "rebellious" subcultures in Europe that Raf simply cannot get enough of. It was not groundbreaking in the slightest. No one will go on to say "Raf's womenswear debut was my all-time favorite collection". It is simply not a reality. Though, between the calf-length cape/cloaks, the transparent waistcoats, and satin skirts I was okay with the result. I was frightful that we would be given overprized and oversized hoodies or tapered sweatpants, so in that regard, I cannot complain. The evening wear was enjoyable. Those sheath dresses would have looked cleaner without the long-sleeved shirt underneath, but we all know how much Raf enjoys layering. His womenswear at Sander, Dior, and finally at CK was modern. I look back on those slim-cut suits and vibrant color blocking techniques and reflect on how he potentially influenced a generation. But, that is in the past. If his future womenswear collection continues to have a hint of androgyny, I do not mind. For him to pop back into relevancy and re-establish himself he must dig deeper and provide more refined collections geared to his audience, not for an Instagram reel or for a generation that has already grown up and moved on in their lives.

You are free to say you like it! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

[perfect blue]

I always get confused between our reactions and Tim Blanks and Cathy intellectualizing everything. I agree with mostly what everyone is saying here.

I’m sure my opinion on this collection will evolve. It seems like Raf has his focus on too many things since he left Dior. His sharpness and progressive creativity has been blunted. This is a man I really look up to, as he’s an intelligent designer, l so I hate to have a sour reaction.

 

[JohannesL]

This collection is bad but the set is beautiful. I think he had some good ideas during his tenure at Dior, but he simply failed to develop them every time. As a result, his best collection as far as I could remember was his last collection at Jil Sander and debut couture collection at Dior. I also find that critics like Horyn and the like are biased, not just for Raf. On a side note, I always feel that Prada the brand is killed by its intellectuality, LOL.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

^^
Obviously, based on his latest collections, the attention he got from rappers and stuff, his crowd is hypebeasts. I don't think that men (unlike Hedi) grew older with him. I have a hard time believing that men that are outside the fashion industry or creative world wears Raf Simons. And I don't think the men who bought Raf 10 years ago are still doing it.
The men around me who introduced me to his work have moved on from him.

I couldn't agree more.

I don't relate to Raf's vision anymore.
The man himself would look ridiculous in the clothes presented on this lookbook. That's another topic, sure, but I don't understand a designer creating pieces he would never wear himself, and be proud in.

Sorry but at one point, you need to quit that Peter Pan 'I am still a teenager' fantasy. It's not working anymore. I wish he would put his energy and great eye for colors, materials and details for a man in his late 30's/40's garderobe instead of dreaming of a youth movement he will never be part of.